A GENIUS CALLED DUMBLEDORE
by DeM0N-K11LL3R
Summary: What would have happened if dumbbledore had told harry the prophecy right after the return of voldermort? One thing harry and his friends have and voldermort will never have is a genius named Dumbledore. Watch as Dumbledore guides harry to be the he
1. THE TEST

The leaving feast had been a subdued affair. All the walls were covered in black drapes in remembrence of Cedric Diggory. The boy who paid the price of being too good for his own good. Almost all of hufflepuff was crying and professor sprout was beside herself with tears.

The scene was not much different at the gryffindor table and the trio was quite glad when the feast was over. They hastened to the common room not wanting to be bothered by any more questions from their fellows. They had just found seats by the fire , when, a timid looking second year came up to them and handed a scroll bound by a blue ribbon.

Harry didn't even notice but Hermione graciously took it.

"its from Dumbledore!!" She said breaking Harry from his reverie.

"what?".

"this" she said and then they bent forward as she read out –

_Dear Harry, Ron, Hermione_

_I request your presence in my office at 10:00 pm tonight for i wish to discuss certain matters with you that i don't want going public._

_Make it a point not to be noticed._

_Bless you_

_Albus Dumbledore_

"Wonder what he wants with us now" said Ron " Harry already told him everything he saw".

"well!! " Said Harry " there's only one way to find out".

So they waited for the common room to clear out and Harry got his invisibility cloak and the map down. At 9:50 they started out.

" cockroach cluster " said harry on reaching the stone gargoyles. They reached the wooden door after stepping onto the moving stairway.

" come in" came Dumbledore's voice and they pushed the door open.

Dumbledore said " please sit down. You are right on time. Candy anyone?".

They all politely declined so Dumbledore went on " I have called you here to tell you where you 

will be staying during the summer. As you know now that Voldemort has your mother's blood , the blood protection on no. 4 privet drive is gone".

Harry's ears rang at this " you mean i don't have to go to the Dursley's anymore?".

Dumbledore's face grew even more grave at this " although I regret sending you to the Dursley's because of their treatment of you. One day you will realize that they played a very important part in who you are. But yes, you can't go to the Dursley's now. You will be staying here at Hogwarts with me and rest of the teachers.".

Ron piped in now " can we stay here too?".

" i'm afraid not Mr. Weasley . You and Hermione both have families and you should make most of the time you get them. You will see him on his birthday but until then you can only write letters to him."

" But professor , how can you say that? Mrs. Weasley treats him like one of her own and he has a family and that's us!!" Hermione was shouting now and Ron was nodding in agreement.

" I guess I'll just say I have plans for him. And that should settle the matter." Dumbledore said in a calm but stern tone . It had the right effect and put a stop to Hermione's ranting.

All through this harry was just sitting there overwhelmed by the concept of not going to the Dursley's . He was deeply touched that Ron and Hermione considered him family, but his ears perked up when Dumbledore mentioned ' plans for him'.

"what plans?" He asked.

" I need your memory of the graveyard to assess the situation first" Dumbledore said while summoning his penseive.

"ok" harry agreed, not finding anything wrong with it . He would finally have a night without a nightmare about the graveyard.

They just watched as Dumbledore pulled a silvery substance from Harry's head and put it in the penseive.

"now you may leave. And harry!" Said Dumbledore " see me right after the students leave".

With this they left his office.

--xxx000xxx--

So as Dumbledore had told him , harry made his way to the headmaster's office after saying 

goodbye to his friends. Dumbledore seemed to be waiting with his penseive in front of him.

"hello harry." Said Dumbledore " please have a seat. "

" there are certain matters I wish to discuss with you. Now what happens here remains here and you are not to tell anyone . Not even Ron and Hermione. Is that understood?"

" yes sir " harry said puzzled but decided to play along.

So Dumbledore proceeded " we have a long road ahead. But before we embark on our journey we have some choices to make. Now please come forward so I can place the memory back."

Harry hesitated for he wanted nothing more than to just forget everything that transpired that fateful night. But seeing that Dumbledore had not given him a choice he came forward as Dumbledore placed that silvery substance from the sink into his head using his wand.

Dumbledore continued " there's an old saying ' the first conquest is thyself and then the rest of the world'. So we first need to know who you are before we make any decisions."

If harry was confused before he was bewildered now. Does he not know who he is?

" By that I mean , what kind of a person are you inside? How much of you has been conquered by darkness , what are your darkest fears and what choices would you make when faced with certain situations. For this purpose I have devised a test if you are willing that is. Though you have already shown a lot of character , I wish to make a point which you will see when the test finishes."

And so harry agreed.

" very well then!! Lets get started!" Said Dumbledore now pointing at a far away closet in his office " open that please.".

Harry walked up to the closet and opened it.

"**AAAAAAAHH**" he let out a scream of pure shock and alarm as Ron's dead body fell onto him. He grabbed him and started shaking him violently as fear took over . Just then something strange happened. Ron's body changed into Hermione's and then to Sirius.

It suddenly jerked from his arm and flew into the closet which locked again.

Now , harry turned to Dumbledore mind still numb from shock of what had just happened.

" that was a Bogart harry. " said Dumbledore offering him a glass of water to calm him " i needed to check what you feared the most. After an encounter like yours with the dark lord one would expect your Bogart to turn into him but it turned into the dead bodies of your loved ones. Do you know what this means harry?"  


Harry slowly shook his head.

"it means that you still have hope and have not been broken down by your encounter.

And now, onto your next test." Said Dumbledore without giving him any time to recover.

" if you will please stand in front of that mirror"

Harry followed his gaze and his eyes went wide as he recognized the mirror of erised.

Many painful memories bubbled up inside his head , but seeing that there was no way out he slowly made his way to the mirror. What he saw was just the same as the last time but with a few additions. His parents were joined by Ron , Hermione , Sirius and to his surprise Cedric and something else. The shock must have shown on his face because Dumbledore now had a twinkle in his eye , as if he knew what harry had seen.

" And now the final step" he said while taking out a small vial from his robes." This is a potion i developed with Severus's help. It's a modification of veritaserum. While under its effect you will tell the truth but will retain your memory of the incident unlike the veritaserum. Plus, unlike veritaserum it pulls out knowledge not only from your mind but also from your heart. .. ……….. Sometimes i even surprise myself!!" He said with a small chuckle. " so, are you ready?"

Harry feebly nodded , still shaken from the events that had just happened. Dumbledore handed him a vial , which he drank. He felt a sinking sensation and then as if he had just had a bottle of firewhisky the room started to sway. When it came back to focus everything appeared just like before.

" has a bit of a kick doesn't it?"

"yes sir."

" my first question harry , is , what did you see in the mirror?"

" I was just the same as i am now but there were several people with me. My father my mother, Sirius , Ron , Hermione , Cedric Diggory and …… the body of Voldemort lying lifeless at our feet."

"who is powerful enough to kill him?"

"you are… you were the only one whom Voldemort was ever afraid of. "

"but will you kill him if you had the power and chance?"

"yes"  


"why?"

"he has taken so much from me and the ones i love, i can't allow him to take any more . He killed my parents, that alone is a crime enough for him to deserve a painful death. I'll kill him even if it's the last thing i do."

"is revenge the only reason?"

"no. He has to be stopped and not just for my revenge but for the protection of every one i love. There will be no more sacrifices of innocents like Cedric."

"are you willing to give your life for it?"

"I am"

"are you willing to live in solitude for it?"

"if it really help to protect, then i will."

"very well harry, take this antidote for the potion" said Dumbledore handing out a purple vial.

They sat in silence contemplating what had just transpired. After some time Dumbledore spoke up.

"you have done far better than my expectation harry. You have proved yourself pure and worthy enough of the knowledge I wish to share. I have some things to tell you , if you are up to it…"

Harry was relieved that finally they were reaching the core of the matter and nodded.

"Before you were born, there was a prophecy made……."

A/N : I KNOW THIS WASN'T MUCH BUT THE REAL STORY STARTS FROM THE NEXT CHAPTER.


	2. THE PROTECTOR

The protector-

Harry's mind still reeled from the knowledge he had gained 3 days ago in Dumbledore's office. He remembered what the headmaster had said……." You won't kill him because you have to, but because you want to. Your destiny cannot be determined by a prophecy for it is your choices that make your destiny. Just think over what I have said and what you have said under the effect of the potion. You will not be at peace unless Voldemort has paid for his sins."

Part of him agreed with Dumbledore but he still had his doubts. He wasn't sure if he would be able to bear this enormous weight on his shoulders. How could he defeat Voldemort when he barely escaped being killed at the graveyard? He was just Harry, not the savior of the world. Why him instead of Dumbledore? Surely Dumbledore could do it. If there was one thing he was sure of , it was that he was not powerful enough nor did he know enough magic to finish the job. He was supposed to meet Dumbledore after dinner today. What more was there to say, he didn't know. Maybe Dumbledore would give him tips on the killing curse , but he wasn't sure if he was eager to learn it yet. So to get his mind off these useless uncertain thoughts, he wandered out of the common room. He took an extended route to reach the headmaster's office.

"cockroach cluster"

"Come in Harry" said the headmaster " Please have a seat"

As Harry took a look around he noticed the Bogart cupboard and the mirror were gone.

" So how are you Harry? Lemon drops?"

Harry took one. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. At Harry's questioning glance he answered " In all the years I have been the headmaster of Hogwarts , I offered candies to every single person who came here. You are the third person who ever took them. Seems to be a family trait. Yes the two others who accepted were James and Sirius. "

Harry unknowingly smiled. It felt good to be connected to his father no matter how subtly.

" Now you must be wondering why I called you here. How much do you know about the founders Harry?"

" Not much sir. I never bothered to read Hogwarts a history with Hermione around."

Dumbledore chuckled at this " Just as I expected. What I am going to tell you isn't from a book in the library , Though I suggest you should read it sometime , its quite helpful. The correct question would be , do you know why Hogwarts is the safest place in all of the wizarding world?"

" Because of its wards?"  


" Anyone could set up similar wards Harry , but they alone are not sufficient to make a place safe. I will now tell you the story of the four founders. But you have to keep this information to yourself. Though you may share the prophecy with miss Granger and Mr. Weasley but you are not allowed to share what I am about to tell you. Is that understood?"

Harry was a little put out at not being able to tell Ron and Hermione but wanted to know what could be so important so he nodded.

" Very well. The four founders built this school in a time of anarchy and despair. Their endeavor was to create a place where people could send their children to learn while knowing that they were in the best hands and were safe. That nothing wRong could happen here. And so , Hogwarts was created. Every single brick and stone was laid by the founders themselves and was enchanted to protect the students inside. They were the most powerful sorcerers of their time and that was how Hogwarts became the most secure building in all of England.

As time wore on , they realized their time was coming. Even if they were mighty , death is not something one can conquer. So they thought of ways to keep the school safe in their absence. They decided to leave objects in this castle which would help protect the school in times of need.

Salazar slytherin left the chamber of secrets."

Harry's head snapped up "WHAT?"

" Yes Harry. The chamber and whatever was inside it was intended to protect the school. Though slytherin did not tell anyone what was inside it , but said that if the wards were breached it would wreak havoc on the intruders. It is most unfortunate that his successors grew evil and earned slytherin a bad name.

Helga hufflepuff left the room of requirement. To help anyone and everyone in need. That was Hufflepuff's nature.

Rowena Ravenclaw created a section in the library, where knowledge beyond bounds exists but only for those whose sole purpose is to protect others.

And Godric Gryffindor left his hat. It might not look like much but it is the best judge of character there is, and it will provide the tools created by Gryffindor himself to those who are brave enough to sacrifice themselves."

He paused a little to let the information sink in, then continued " Even though these marvelous gifts were created and left at the school , there was still the question of the wards and the safekeeping of these gifts. So they decided to pass on a part of their powers to a new protector of Hogwarts. He would be bound to the school and would be a part of it. He would protect it and its students with his life. The wards would be bound to his magic. Once a protector dies his magic would pass on to the castle and protect it forever. But , Magic is energy and like all others it dissipates with time. So every protector offers a part of his magic to help the school.  


The question was, how would they chose the protector? How could they determine of one was worthy of such great power and responsibility? This is where a rift appeared between slytherin and the others. He believed that their powers should be confined to their own bloodlines and thus ensure that it was always in worthy hands. The others did not agree . they felt that purity of heart and willingness to sacrifice determined if one was worthy of it. The debate went on for almost an year , until when slytherin left the castle. He confined his powers to his bloodline and they were never heard of again. The rest who remained at Hogwarts started searching in earnest for the first protector. That was how John Constantine became the first protector, and another legend was born."

Dumbledore stopped to drink water, then continued " he never became the headmaster but taught defence against the dark arts here for the rest of his life. He too passed on the power and knowledge to a successor before passing away. It has been a thousand years and there have been twenty-one protectors. I am the twenty first."

He waited for some reaction but none came. Harry was too awestruck by the story to speak. His mind was running wild among the walls of the castle as it was a whole new dimension. Each stone in the castle had its history. He understood that now.

" A protector is supposed to work in total secrecy, until, he finds a suitable candidate."

Harry's eyes grew wide at this " Y-You want me to be the next protector?" Everything he had been feeling before was just replaced by pure unadulterated shock.

"Yes Harry. You have proven yourself pure at heart and brave enough to sacrifice everything for the ones you love, not only once but many times through the past four years. My time is coming near, and I must pass on this responsibility to someone who is worthy enough. You are more than worthy Harry. And I beg you to consider. It is a very difficult path. Your life will not be your own, you will be bound to serve the school. If you betray it the power will kill you. I'm not worried about that though. You will have to keep secrets from the ones you love and perhaps will have to make several tough decisions. In short, it is the toughest job there exists. So, I will not force anything on you, but I request you to think over."

" But sir, I'm just a fourteen year old boy!! I'm way too weak for this kind of a thing , when thousands of lives could depend on a single decision I make!" said Harry, trying to make sense of the conversation.

" I am not saying that you should become the protector now Harry. I want you to be ready when the correct time comes. It is a commitment you will have to follow even in death. I think three months would be enough time for you to think it over."

" Just three months? I don't think I'll ever be able to make up my mind for this!"

" I think you'll find out just how long a period can three months be this summer." Said Dumbledore with an all too familiar twinkle in his eyes. " Now lets get to the matter at hand, that 

is Voldemort."

Harry groaned inwardly. Voldemort was something he wished he could just erase from his memory.

" Harry, the reason you were able to escaped from Voldemort is that, when he got his body back he did not return to his full power. That night he was even below ten percent of his true power. But , his powers will return slowly and much more than before as he got your and Pettigrew's blood."

Harry listened in great horror as the headmaster's face grew more and more grave with every word he spoke.

" He will build his forces far stRonger and better organized than before. If I know him correctly, he would have spent his entire time in exile thinking over ways to get stRonger. And he has a personal vendetta against you. So, the result is that , soon you will have an army of not only death-eaters but many other creatures after you. I therefore offer to train you. This training might not help you win the fight against Voldemort but it will certainly help you to survive the assault. Do want to do it?"

"Do I have a choice?"

" We always have a choice Harry. Though it is a different matter if our conscience doesn't let us make them."

" I will train sir ." said Harry with a determined look " And I can't think of anyone I would rather train with. It would be an honour." He said standing up .

" Great. Your training will begin day after tomorrow. Be ready to go through hell, and I mean literally"

Harry recoiled a little, trying to reconsider what he had gotten himself into. But it was too late to back out now.

" Goodnight sir"

" Goodnight Harry "

A/N : THE NEXT CHAPTER IS WHERE THE ACTION STARTS WITH HARRY'S TRAINING.


	3. PRELIMINARY PERILS

PRELIMINARY PERILS-

So, on 31st may at 11:00pm, Harry makes his way to the headmaster's office again. This time, he finds Dumbledore standing in front of the gargoyles waiting for him.

"Follow me Harry." Said Dumbledore without any explanation , and started walking. They reached the seventh floor, and Dumbledore suddenly stopped in the middle of the corridor .

" Here is the room of requirement Harry. This is where you will be training."

Harry looked around in confusion. He could see nothing but an empty corridor.

"stand here for a moment" said Dumbledore and started pacing around in front of the enormous tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to train trolls for the ballet, mumbling something. Then suddenly a door appeared in the opposite wall. Dumbledore motioned him to get in and then followed. They entered into a small room with two chairs and a small table with a rucksack on it. There was another small door on the other side.

" Harry, this is the room of requirement. It changes into whatever you want it to. You walk past that area of the wall three times thinking of what you want, then , the room will open and grant your wishes. It is imperative that you do not tell anyone of this room, for in the wrong hands it could wreak havoc."

Dumbledore went to the desk and retrieved the rucksack, while Harry stood there again awestruck by the secrets of Hogwarts and the brilliance of its founders. Dumbledore pulled out a leather belt with a small bottle attached to it.

" Take this Harry, you might need this on your journey."

"Journey? I don't understand professor . I thought I was supposed to train here, though I doubt what we will be able to do in this small room." Taking the belt and putting it on.

" Patience Harry. Will you please open that door? And do not step out." Dumbledore said motioning towards the door opposite to the one from which they had entered. Harry did so and could not believe what he saw. On the other side of the door was a huge forest much like the forbidden forest. Dumbledore came up to him. " Your first task is out there Harry. I asked the room to change into a forest . I think it's the best place to train your survival instinct. All you have to do, is survive out there and finish the little tasks the room sets you. A day outside the room is a month inside, so you'll be here a pretty long time."

" How long exactly?" said Harry still trying to calculate what three months outside could mean inside.

" As long as it takes Harry. You'll be here until you have learnt everything this forest has to 

offer. But do not take this lightly. Every single danger here is as real as it is out there. This is your last chance. Are you up to it?"

" I am as ready as I'll ever be. There's no backing out now. Voldemort is after me. If this is what it takes to get me ready then I'll doo it no matter what."

" Very good Harry. Now hand me your wand, you won't be needing it."

This was more than what Harry had bargained for " But sir, how am I supposed to survive if I am not allowed to do any magic? There must be thousands of magical creatures out there."

" No Harry. You are allowed to do magic any time you want. Its just that you will have to do it without a wand. But , I have a gift for you that will help in your protection." Said Dumbledore and pulled out a long sword in a strong looking scabbard. The small sack must have been enchanted to keep larger objects. To the scabbard was attached a leather strap, so that it could be worn across the torso. Dumbledore pulled out the sword. It was straight and of even breadth but tapering at the end. The handle wasn't very ornate but the cross-guard was in the shape of dragon claws. The handle was made of dragon scales. The blade seemed to be made of many metals, many symbols were embedded in it using different metals. All in all, it had a mesmerizing aura about it. Dumbledore was gazing at it like an old friend just about to part ways.

" This Harry, is the Green Destiny. An ancient and legendary sword. It has seen many battles both muggle and magical, but has never been damaged. Its virtually unbreakable. Its perfect in almost every way. Please keep it close Harry and never lose it. I used some unbreakable charms on its strap to take care of that." Said Dumbledore then handed it to Harry.

It was much more heavy than Dumbledore had made it seem, and the scabbard was even heavier, but Harry put it on. With the sword now safely on his back he turned to Dumbledore.

" How do we start?"

" Just go out side the door and close it behind you."

" You are not coming?"

" No Harry. I have several matters to attend to here."

" Then who will teach me?"

" Life Harry. Tough it out. Survive. Until you are tough enough to beat the best. Now go on or you already will be late for the schedule I set for you. And, best of luck."

" Thank you sir." Said Harry. He took one last look at the smiling face of his headmaster and then, stepped out and closed the door behind him.

Xxx000xxx

The door disappeared as soon as he closed it. He turned and took in his surroundings. He was in a small clearing surrounded by thick forest. There was an unnerving silence. The forest seemed void of any kind of animal life. There was no chirping of birds nor was there any hum of insects.

" seems easy enough. I might as well start by collecting food if I am going to be here long."

So he started in a random direction, keeping an eye out for any animal movement. After sometime he concluded there weren't any animals here so he need not worry about them. He then let his guard down and started to search for food and water in earnest. The suddenly, he was hit by something massive on his back.

WHAM!! He was lucky he landed on soft grass and rolled instead of skidding. He turned and rolled out just in time to avoid another hit. Then his mind focused on what was attacking him. It was a whomping willow and it looked angry. Harry did not have time to think as another branch whipped his leg leaving a long cut. He scrambled away as fast as he could , looking behind all the time. He collided with another tree as a result. This left a cut on his cheek. Finally out of the tree's range. He sat down at the base of an oak tree.

" GET UP HARRY" said a monotonous voice that seemed to be coming from everywhere. Harry looked around in confusion, startled.

"WHO IS IT?"

"I AM YOUR GUIDE THROUGH THIS TRAINING."

"WHERE ARE YOU AND WHO ARE YOU?"

"I AM THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT AND AM EVERYWHERE IN HERE. NOW GET UP."

Harry finally understood that Dumbledore would have left someone to guide him in the room, and who better than the room itself?

" NOW YOU HAVE SOME CUTS. NOTHING MAJOR BUT IF NOT TREATED TIMELY , THEY CAN TURN PRETTY UGLY. FIRST YOU NEED TO FIND SOME ANTISEPTIC HERBS. THYMES GROW IN THIS KIND OF CLIMATE . THEY ARE SMALL EVERGREEN SHRUBS. IT HAS LEAVES ARRANGED IN OPPOSITE PAIRS, OVAL, ENTIRE, AND SMALL, 4-20 MM LONG. QUICKLY FIND THEM, APPLY THE JUICE OF ITS LEAVES TO YOUR WOUNDS. THEN IF YOU ARE ABLE TO APPLY LATEX FROM ITS VINES IT WILL HELP IN THE HEALING."

Then the voice disappeared as suddenly as it had come. So now , Harry set out to find a shrub of matching description. After about half an hour he found a cluster of them. He plucked a few 

leaves and started crushing them with stones. Just as he applied the green paste formed he jumped up in agony.

" Why didn't he say that it would burn so much!!"

But figuring that he had no choice he carried on. The latex was a little cool but it itched like mad. After making sure that all his wounds were attended to, he set off again to find water. About two hours and another whomping willow later he found a small pond of crystal clear water. He drank and stored some in the bottle Dumbledore had given him. He noticed there were some fruits on the trees here that he had never seen before. It was blue-red in colour and looked a lot like a pear. It might have been dangerous but Harry didn't care anymore. He was too hungry to care. So he climbed the tree and plucked one. He started eating but was forced to spit it out at once. It was too bitter. He started feeling dizzy and lost his grip on tree. As he lay on the floor trying to level his head, the voice came again.

"DRINK LOTS OF WATER AND TRY TO THROW UP."

Harry shakily took gulps of water from his water pouch as fast as he could, and then threw up.

" ITS CALLED THE BITTERSWEET NIGHTSHADE.IT'S ALL PARTS ARE POISONOUS, CONTAINING SOLANINE AND CAUSING FATIGUE, PARALYSIS, CONVULSIONS AND DIARRHEA. ITS RARELY FATAL BUT YOU WILL HAVE A HEADACHE FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. SEARCH FOR THE BDELLIUM TREE. IT HAS MANY MEDICINAL PROPERTIES, THE JUICE FROM ITS LEAVES WILL HELP AS AN ANTIDOTE FOR MILD POISON. YOU'LL LEARN ITS OTHER USES IN DUE TIME. RECOGNISE IT BY ITS CHARACTERISTIC 'S-SHAPED ROOTS'."

For once Harry wished he had payed attention in herbology. He got up shakily , refilled his bottle, and set out to search for the tree. He started to feel the weight of the sword on his back pulling him down. His head was pounding more and more with each step he took , but he had to go on. If gave up on the first day just because of a damn headache he would never forgive himself. After another hour's work he found the tree at last. Its leave's juice was almost as bitter as the bittersweet nightshade. But his head cleared considerably after it. Then he noticed an apple tree nearby. He thanked his lucky stars and made a run for it. Once he was full , he lied down at the bottom of the tree and dozed off.

Xxx000xxx

When Harry woke up the next morning, he was confused by his surrounding. He was lying on the ground in the middle of a forest instead of hi bed inside his dormitory. Then, it came back rushing to him. He got up and checked his wounds. The small cuts had healed but left faint scars. The big cuts were much better but still not healed. His head was clear now. So, he climbed the tree again and took as many apples as he could take . After he was finished with hi breakfast, the voice returned.

" AS LONG AS YOU ARE IN THIS FOREST YOU HAVE A DEFINITE TASK. AFTER 

YOU HAVE COMPLETED IT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO LEAVE THIS PLACE FOR YOUR NEXT CHALLENGE. YOU HAVE TO COLLECT SEVEN SPECIAL BALLS AND DEPOSIT THEM IN THE DRIED WELL ON TOP OF THE ONLY HILL PRESENT HERE. THEY ARE ORANGE ORBS WITH STARS ON THEM. THE FIRST ONE IS LOCATED IN A CHEST AT THE BOTTOM OF A LAKE HERE. YOU HAVE TWENTY DAYS FROM TODAY FOR THAT ONE."

" Always to the point huh?"said Harry pondering over his task " It could be the same one I went to yesterday." But the trouble was that he did not remember his way back, and nor did he know how many lakes were there in this area. He would have to start exploring while making sure that he did not get lost. So, he took out the green destiny and marked the big apple tree. Then, he set out in one direction marking trees along the way.

It had been five hours and he had seen no sign of a lake anywhere, and he was getting hungry. As he was walking , something caught his foot and he tripped onto his face. He turned over to find a green vine wrapped around his foot. He tried to pull it off but was unable to do so, and then, the grip tightened. He panicked and started scrambling away, but to no avail. His foot was going numb . Then, his hand fell on his sword, which he had dropped when he fell. Quickly he grabbed it and cut the vine. It writhed away like a snake in pain. But then vines appeared from all of the surrounding shrubs and started grabbing him.

Harry was positively scared now. He started making wide slashes at them with the sword. He wasn't able to significantly damage any of them, but they were quickly getting hold of him. A vine gripped around his neck cutting off his air supply. His vision was getting foggy and his head dizzy. Then, his mind gave way and instinct took over. He cut of the binding on his neck and in one sweeping motion , using all his strength cut of the ones on his right. He fell with a jerk slightly freeing his left arm. Now , holding the sword with both hands he attacked the roots of the vines. Finally, when he was free, he quickly ran in the opposite direction, away from any bush there was.

He sat down panting, resting his back on the bark of a tree. His wound from yesterday had reopened. But he was too shaken from this encounter to care. He needed to practice with the sword. And , he would have to find other sources of food and water.

It wasn't until he had noon the next day that he found a small lake. Must have been around 30 meters wide. He decide to take a look inside. So he rested his sword , and jumped in. But swimming was not as easy as it had been in the second task. he nearly drowned before he was able to reach the edge of the lake gasping for air. He had gillyweed back then and it didn't seem likely that he would find some here.

"Looks like I'll have to practice swimming"

So, the next two days were spent swimming. He spent almost all his time in the water until he was so tired that he would be at a risk of drowning. Then he would come out to recuperate, and go back immediately when he felt energetic enough. He had found some wild spinach growing near the lake. It tasted awful but was enough to survive, plus it was nutritious.  


He had checked the small lake thoroughly in the mean time. There was nothing here. He would have to find another one. Now, fairly confident of his swimming he took off again. The days passed slowly. He started practicing with the green destiny. It was very tiring as the sword was quite heavy, so he practiced only when he felt he was at a safe distance from the vines. Three days passed. Meanwhile he had found the pond he had visited first and checked it too. He had been poisoned twice more and attacked by different kinds of plants four times. Each time the voice of the room, provided him information on the plant by which he had been attacked and the remedy for the injuries and the poisons.

Harry woke the next morning to the irritating buzzing mosquitoes in his ears. It was the first day of the second week of his training. This was the first sign of non-plant life he had seen all his time here. He wondered what else had appeared. He got up and quickly found an apple tree. They were the most common source of food present here and he did not want to try anything new in fear of getting poisoned again.

He climbed the tree and accidently disturbed a giant bee hive that had not been there the previous evening. All hell broke loose, and the next moment, Harry was being chased around by hundreds of bees. He quickly picked up his sword and ran. Ran for his dear life, ran through thick bushes trying to lose the bees, but to no avail. His arms and face were quickly getting covered with stings.

In his hurry he tripped over some stones, and landed face down on a four foot tall mound of mud. Harry thanked his lucky stars that it was soft mud instead of the stones surrounding that area. But something felt strange. He started having a tingling feeling all over, as if something was crawling inside his clothes. By this time , the bees were upon him, and stinging badly. But then Harry felt something crawling on his face.

"**DAMN!!"**

He had fallen on an ant hill and now they were all over. Harry was now twitching frantically. He could not keep his clothes on because of the ants and he could not take them off because of the bees. This was pure torture which he would not wish even on his worst enemies ( other than Voldemort and every single person who agreed with him ofcourse).

"WATER" came the sudden voice of the room. Harry understood what it meant and didn't need telling twice. He started running again, looking for marked trees that would lead him to a lake. But while running from the bees he had ventured into an area he had not explored as yet. It had been ten minutes now since the wild bee chase began and things were getting worse with every passing second.

He smelt moist mud and ran toward it. He must have broken all his speed records, running like never before. A lake came up and he jumped straight in without any hesitation. Inside the water he was safe from the bees and the ants would be dead.

He stayed in the water a few minutes, letting the cool water sooth his muscles and the hundreds o 

insect bites he had received all over. His face was swollen to one and a half time its normal size and so were his hands. He had received several minor injuries while coming here and running through the bushes, and they stung like hell.

He finally got out of the water and surveyed the scene. In front of him was a huge lake almost half a kilometer wide, and beyond it he could see a hill, not very far away. His heart elated. At least he had found the hill, and maybe this would be the lake where the chest was hidden. But right now he was in no condition to trek. He needed to do something about the stings.

"REMOVE THE STINGERS. AUCRONAFESTERS ARE TREES WITH LEAVES SEVERAL INCHES THICK AND FEW FEET LONG. THE TRUNK IS STRAIGHT AND OF UNIFORM WIDTH. SQUEEZE ITS LEAVES BETWEEN STONES AND APPLY A LAYER OF THE PASTE THUS FORMED. ON IT APPLY A LAYER OF CLAY."

Two hours later Harry was lying at the edge of the lake with his sword and clothes lying beside him. His body was covered with a mixture of a thick yellow paste and clay. Harry just lay there wondering, if just a few insects could do this to him when only a week had passed , what would the greater dangers of the forest do? Dumbledore had not been kidding when he said that training would be hell.

He smiled faintly as he remembered a childish argument Dean and Ron were having in their second year-" bees are more dangerous or gnomes?" Ron had been adamant that since gnomes were magical creatures they had more capacity to damage, while Dean wasn't convinced as he was muggleborn and had never actually seen a gnome. Harry had sided with Ron back then. But now, he couldn't agree more with Dean.

Xxx000xxx

The next day Harry set out to explore the lake, but it turned out to be too deep for him to search. He weighed his options.

There were several ways to go under water. Gillyweed was one, the bubblehead charm was another, he could transfigure himself into a water animal, or he could just simply summon the chest up. But all of these required magic and he did not have his wand.

He couldn't even hope to find gillyweed here. It was quite a rare plant, so that was ruled out.

Now he had no option but to do magic. The transfiguration was something they learnt in year six and Harry didn't even know the incantation so that was ruled out too. Just the bubblehead charm and the summoning charm were left. He knew how to do both of them, but without a wand it was a different story. He wouldn't have time to master both the spells in just 12 days. Plus he wasn't even sure if he would be able to do it at all.

He settled for the summoning charm. It was simpler and he had mastered it for the first task, so 

he was positive that it was his only hope. He set to work immediately, trying to summon dead leaves to him.

He didn't expect to be successful soon but this was still infuriating. He had been practicing for six full days and all he was able to do was make some leaves twitch. Meanwhile he had continued his sword practice.

Then suddenly " CALM DOWN AND CLEAR YOUR MIND OF ALL THOUGHTS. YOU ARE CONCENTRATING TOO HARD."

" Why cant he give some warning before speaking? Scared me half to death!!" said Harry to himself.

Clear your mind of all thoughts? You are concentrating too hard? How could he be concentrating too hard when all he was able to do was make some damn leaves twitch?

But there was no harm in trying , so he tried to calm down and clear his mind.

"ACCIO LEAVES"

Nothing.

"ACCIO LEAVES"

In his fourth try, some leaves left the ground and started floating towards him. He got excited and his mind diverted. The leaves fell down midway. But Harry was not bothered now, he knew where he had been going wrong , so he started afresh, Trying to ease the leaves into his hands rather than force them.

He made rapid progress from there and in three days he was able to summon medium sized boulders towards him (though he had a tough time dodging them once they reached him).

In the meanwhile he had been joined by a new class of animals. Several lizards, frogs, and squirrels now inhabited the forest. There were even small fishes in the lake now which was totally void of animal life before. Harry finally understood that the room was slowly introducing creatures so that he could learn how to handle them individually. This in fact turned out to be a great way of learning, as every other day Harry was attacked by a new tree or animal (only insects and lizards right now). Then the room would give him information about the cure for the special wounds or damage caused by each creature. It seemed like one big lesson of care of magical creatures combined with herbiology, but in this case the animals were not magical. He wondered how long would it be before magical creatures inhabit this forest.

Harry figured he should check out the lake now as there were only four days left to the deadline of twenty days. And so he set out.

"ACCIO CHEST"  


But nothing happened. The chest must be out of range he thought. After all , his summoning charm now wasn't half as good as with a wand. He decided to swim into the lake and try his luck at different places.

It took full two days to locate the chest and extract the ball from it. The ball was just like the voice had described, about ten centimeters in diameter , deep orange with a star on it. He put it in his pocket and set out for the hill as it started raining.

Xxx000xxx

Harry's difficulties did not end with finding the ball. As he found out the hard way, the hill was filled with whomping willows. He was caught off guard and was flung about like a ragdoll. So, after his first encounter , Harry tumbled to the bottom of the hill , unconscious for a few hours.

When Harry woke up, his entire body was sore and there were cuts all over him. This did not bother him as he had stocked on some of the medicinal herbs. Keeping them in the magically enlarged pouches in his belt.

He sat and contemplated. The first option was that he could just make a run for it and trust his quidditch instincts to get him around. But this was not possible as this was the same approach he had applied the last time. And , it was still raining it was difficult to get a firm footing for maneuvers required to evade the trees.

His sword could barely scratch the trees and there was no way in hell he would be able to cast a powerful enough redactor curse without a wand. What he really need were cannons , to blast a path right through the trees.

" WAIT A MINUTE!! CANNONS!! THAT'S IT!!" and he was off.

Harry spent rest of the day collecting the largest stones and boulders that he could find. He summoned them one by one to the foot of the hill. Once convinced that he had enough. He went to sleep. Tomorrow was the last of the deadline, but that would be enough with the new plan he had.

Xxx000xxx

Next morning when Harry woke, water was flooding everywhere and it was still raining relentlessly.

Harry set his plan in motion. He went and stood just out of reach of the first whomping willow, and turned his back to it. Pointing his hand to a large boulder in his collection he said" ACCIO BOULDER".

The boulder shot towards him picking up speed along the way. When it had almost reached Harry , he jumped aside. The boulder went on to hit the tree with tremendous force, uprooting it.  


"YYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAA" yelled Harry pumping his fist in the air.

But what goes up must come down. Same applies to the boulder , so it came back rolling towards Harry. He barely avoided it.

Now Harry waged a war on all the willows. Boulders of all sizes were being flung at them like cannon balls uprooting many. He concentrated his efforts to clear a path for himself.

The amount of energy required to move such large objects at such high speeds was very high and it started taking its toll on Harry. But still he kept pushing himself to the limit.

Finally there were only a few trees left in his path. But he wasn't able to summon any more stones now. So, he rested for a while, and made a run for it.

He was again reminded how slow he was compared to the willows. But this time, they flung him towards the top.

Harry skidded to a halt on the top. He gingerly got to his feet and looked around. He had finally reached the top, with a few hours to spare. There was a small hut here and beside it there was a well.

" First things first" said Harry as he walked towards the well and threw the ball in. He then went into the hut. It contained a small bed and a small study table with a brown box and a lamp on it.

He went to the table and opened the box. Inside there were new clothes and on top of them was an envelope. He ripped it open and recognized his headmasters handwriting at once.

_DEAR HARRY_

_If you are reading this it means that you have successfully completed your first task. But remember that outside not even a day has passed and you will be here for three full months. This is just the first step of your training. You must be wondering that why aren't there any more creatures in this forest. Don't worry. Every week a new class of creatures will be introduced into the forest. This is, so that you get an equal chance to appreciate each creature and learn to handle it._

_There are fresh clothes in this box. This is special weighted clothing. You need to be strong both physically and mentally to survive. So, the arm bands weigh 2kg each, the boots weigh 3kg each and the shirt weighs 5kg. You must be thinking that you can lift these easily, so what's the use? But when you have to wear them for the entire day while running swimming and doing whatever else you do, It becomes very strainful and difficult._

_Lastly, in this envelope there is also a __**zenzu**__ bean. Eat it. It's a magical bean that keeps you full _

_for 24 hours and also heals any internal injuries that you might have. _

_Good luck Harry._

_Albus Dumbledore_

Harry quickly found the bean and ate it. The soreness of his body slowly ebbed away and he felt more healthy than he had done in ages. He undressed , and went to bed, a luxury he had not had for three weeks.

Xxx000xxx

Next morning he woke up and just as he put on the new clothes given by Dumbledore, and picked up his sword, The hut vanished. He now stood in a completely different forest. This one seemed to be tropical, and he could hear a stream flowing nearby. He observed to find out what new creatures had come this week, and did not like what he saw.

There were snakes. Lots of them.


	4. MEANWHILE OUTSIDE

MEANWHILE OUTSIDE

On a magically concealed island 300 miles off the west coast of England stood a fort. Made of gray stone covered in ivy and surrounded by a thick forest, this settlement had an eerie feel about it. And rightly so, because whatever was going on inside was anything but normal.

Several hooded figures dressed in black stood along the walls of the hall waiting for their leader. The air was thick with anticipation for this was the first time every single one of his followers was summoned. Something big was about to happen, everyone knew, but no one knew what. The fact that they constantly heard screams of intolerable pain for the adjacent room did not help their anxiety, nor did the fact that these voices belonged to their fellow death eaters. As the minutes passed by, the voices grew even more and more desperate and after several minute suddenly stopped.

Instantly the door opened and the tall and slim figure of lord Voldemort walked in.

He took a deep breath as he walked past his followers. "Refreshing" he said in a hiss but loud enough for everyone to hear. A chill ran down each person's spine. Voldemort calmly walked to his throne and sat down in a manner befitting a king. The throne in itself was magnificent. Made of pure gold with huge sapphires and rubies embedded all over. The dark mark was made on it using black diamonds. Above Voldemort's head like an umbrella was spread a cobra made of gold with huge emerald eyes.

" welcome my friends. As you might have noticed, I AM BACK. Though some of your disillusioned friends actually believed I could die…." . He paused for the words to take effect. Any deatheater not believing in their master's immortality was as good as dead. He continued " now, I 've been gone for thirteen years and am a little apprehensive that my army might have lost its touch. So …. PROVE YOURSELF , AND YOU SHALL LIVE."

" few of your friends already did by bringing me this prisoner." Said Voldemort as two deatheaters dragged in a big jute sack and threw in the middle of the room. The sack was cut open and the prisoner now lay on the ground quivering from fear.

"welcome Cornelius!! You like the party here?? At least show the courtesy of standing and bowing to your master. **SO STAND UP ." **all this just managed to make him curl into a ball with fear. " **imperio! **Now stand up and bow."

He then addressed his followers" you will torture him one by one but don't let him die. If your performance is not up to the mark, you shall be disposed off. I don't need sissies in my army. And use of crucios is prohibited. Be creative. You first." He said pointing towards a deatheater and removed the imperious on fudge.

The deatheater walked forward slowly and conjured a chair and strapped fudge to it.

"Avery?? You wont get away with this I am the minis…" He was unable to complete his sentence because now his mouth was clamped shut with his lips sealed though a steel wire stitching. Avery now conjured a knife with several close blades, the one muggles use to cut potato chips. Muffled screams 

filled the room as uncountable cuts were made on fudges body millimeters apart and then filled with chili powder. Then he stretched out the prisoner's hands and set them on fire and conjured a few more ropes and enchanted them to whip him.

" Enough" said Voldemort and waved his wand, which healed fudge completely. " You passed. But barely. NEXT."

A junior deatheater stepped forward. He was quite nervous as earlier all it took to be a deatheater was just expertise at the unforgivables, but now they were not allowed. So, he hung fudge by his wrists, conjured wood cane and started beating him.

" Is that the best you can think of?" sneered Voldemort.

Seeing that Voldemort wasn't impressed, the deatheater panicked and got desperate. He used the cruciatus curse. (which was not such a good idea) . Voldemort just levitated him and lowered his screaming form into a small pond formed at the side of the room full of some thick black liquid. His screams stopped as soon as he entered the liquid.

One deatheater was stupid enough to ask " WHAT'S THAT?". And down into the same liquid he went.

" NO ONE QUESTIONS ME!! UNDERSTOOD??" The death eaters standing nearby started backing into the walls afraid of encountering the dark lord's rage.

And , so , the test continued, the next person to pass was Mcnair. He stretched fudge on a stretching table where all his limbs were tied and pulled in different directions. Mcnair alternately burnt and froze several parts of fudge's body. Pulled his nails out, and pulled half his hair out in a single jerk. Then he goes on to twist all his fingers and toes the wrong way breaking all of them.

"PASS… NEXT" Said Voldemort and waved his wand again to heal fudge.

The torture went on for several hours. Fudge had himself frozen, burnt, skinned, his fingers were cut and then frozen solid, his one eye was popped, and so on. By the time they finished, fudge could not be healed any longer.

Voldemort motioned to a group of deatheaters and said "Kill him. The disappearance of the minister of magic will create some excitement here."

Their eyes met and five wands raised simultaneously and "**REDUCTO**". The body was blown to a million pieces and the meeting moved on as if nothing had happened.

In total 50 deatheaters failed. The ones that were left were wondering if this was the plan all along. Little did they know that this was the very question going to be answered in the next few moments.

"So my friends , the ones unworthy of us have been removed. We shall begin with our big plan. While I was in exile, I formed an alliance, Kahzann, who gave me the information I needed to get my body back, 

and now… I will give him his body back." And he proceeded towards the pond and started waving his wand almost like a composer of an orchestra while murmuring something.

Blue glowing patterns started appearing on the ground surrounding the pond forming a circle filled with ancient runes. The liquid started bubbling and steaming as it turned dark blue. Then the patterns changed their colour to red and the liquid now looked like lava. The lava started emerging from its container in the form of a ball. Then the ball slowly unfolded to reveal a humanoid form made of lava. The creature was unlike any other they had ever seen.

" Welcome to life once again Kahzann. I fulfilled my promise, now you must complete yours."

" **Not so fast Voldemort. I am back, but that is not enough. I need the tools to finish the job.**"

"What do you need?"

Xxx000xxx

McGonagall raced towards the headmaster's office. She had been called immediately. When she reached, the room was already full of people. Dumbledore was sitting on his chair behind the desk and forming a semicircle around the room were Sirius, Remus, Flitwick, a girl with pink hair she didn't know, Kingsley and Snape. Dumbledore drew a chair for her out of thin air and motioned her to sit.

"A mass deatheater meeting was just held. In fact every single deatheater was present there. I have already heard Severus' report on it but I think you all should hear it too. Severus if you would be kind enough to relate today's events to the rest." Said Dumbledore.

Snape took a deep breath and started with his story. After some time Sirius interrupted " what was the creature like?"

" Around twelve feet tall, extremely strong built, it seemed his red skin is made of rock but he was mostly covered in a dense layer of fire. Now that I've answered you don't interrupt me again" Snape replied with a snarl and then continued " The dark lord greeted him back to life and asked him to complete his promise as he had completed his. But Kahzann said he needed some tools to finish the job" and Snape stopped.

There was silence for some time and finally McGonagall spoke" What?".

" Fifty followers that did not have the dark mark and another two hundred stained souls to sacrifice."

Everyone was shocked….

"The dark lord has sent half of his forces in search for suitable candidates. What this demon possesses for the dark lord to show him respect I do not know." said Snape in a way that clearly conveyed that even after all these hours, he was still shaken up by the encounter.


End file.
